Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 23 (2015): 147-148

Book Review

This important volume is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted in 2004 to the Department of History 
at Aden University. It follows a number 
of valuable sources on the Rasulid era 
in Yemen that have been published in 
Yemen and are rarely accessible outside 
Yemen. The author has consulted 182 
Arabic sources (manuscripts and printed 
material), including the major chronicles, 
but is unaware of important sources in 
Western languages by R. B. Serjeant, G. Rex 
Smith, Eric Vallet and other scholars who 
have written on the Rasulids. The Intro-
duction (pp. 15-20) lays out the purpose of 
the book, which is to highlight the inter-
action of Yemeni tribes with the Rasulid 
state. The Rasulids and the Zaydi imams, 
located in the northern highlands, forged 
alliances with various tribes, who were 
prone to frequently rebel against Rasulid 
policies and taxation. The main value of 
the book is presenting information on the 
relations of the Rasulid rulers to specific 
Yemeni tribes rather than simply having a 

chronological account.
His text is divided into four parts. The 

first part describes the politics of the 
Rasulid state and the nature of the tribal 
system at the time. The second part 
focuses on several specific tribal rebellions, 
indicating their causes and consequences, 
whether political, economic, social or 
religious. The third part concentrates 
on the Yemeni tribes ʿAkk, al-Ashʿār, 
Madhḥaj and Ḥimyar, but also discusses 
other specific tribes as they related to 
the Rasulid state. The final part analyzes 
the methods of peacemaking and military 
action of the Rasulids in dealing with the 
tribes. Also included in the Introduction 
(pp. 20-36) is an annotated description of 
the major Rasulid texts consulted for the 
study. 

The book includes a number of valuable 
appendices, listing the Ayyubid and Rasulid 
rulers in Yemen, as well as the Zaydi imams 
during the period. A genealogical chart 
of the descendants of ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad 
ibn Hārūn (known as al-Rasūl) is provided, 

Ṭaha Ḥusayn ʿAwaḍ Hudayl, Tamarrudāt al-qabīla fī ʿaṣr al-dawla 
al-Rasūlīya wa-atharhā fī al-ḥayāt al-ʿāmma fī al-Yaman (626-858 H) 
[Tribal Revolts in the Era of the Rasulid State and their Impact on 
Ordinary Life in Yemen] (Aden: Dār al-Wafāq, 1433/2012), 440 pages.

Daniel Martin Varisco

Qatar University

(dmvarisco@ahjur.org)



Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā 23 (2015)

148  •  Daniel Martin Varisco

as well as a chart of Yemeni tribes from 
the ancestral stock of Kahlān and Ḥimyar. 
The four maps provided (of the Rasulid 
state and tribal groups) are very difficult 

to read, given the small size of the print. 
In addition to the bibliography there are 
indices of individuals (pp. 395-411), tribes 
(pp. 413-421) and placenames (pp. 423-436).